‘Got hypertension from a nasal spray addiction’

Ridden with frequent colds, Dadar-based businessman M Mehta found that a nasal spray he saw on TV helped him breath easily through the night.

But in three years, the habit left him gasping. He had developed hypertension.

“I saw an advertisement on television and went to the pharmacy and the attendant there gave me the drops. I would use them often to avoid waking up at night,” said Mehta.

However, a few months ago, when he complained of severe headaches, doctors diagnosed him with hypertension. “I visited several specialists to understand why I had hypertension. My ENT (eyes nose throat) surgeon linked it to my nasal drops,” said Mehta, who underwent a surgery in July last year to remove a polyps (abnormal growth in the nasal passage), relieving him from the congestion.

ENT surgeons say that two out of every 10 patients who self-medicate with these drops land up in hospital with side-effects.

Learning from bitter experience, Mehta has now switched to saline sprays, which are not so harmful.